Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Onward and Upward!

By Leigh Ellwood (Guest Blogger)


I’d like to thank Lisabet for hosting me today. I am Leigh Ellwood, author of erotica and romance, and Lisabet and I have shared space in at least one anthology for Coming Together (Coming Together: Girl on Girl, for one, which I edited). Presently, though, I am working on contracts with new-to-me publishers, specifically Ellora’s Cave and Decadent Publishing. I look forward to sharing new work in 2014 with readers who enjoy erotica and erotic romance, particularly LGBT.

Though I’ve had works published for over ten years, I consider 2014 a clean slate for me. In the last decade I helped launch a new publisher (Phaze Books, in 2004) and contributed works to charity projects (see Coming Together) and have dabbled in self-publishing. I’ve had fun along the way and made a few dollars, but I have come to a point in my career where I feel it’s time to get serious. This means I need to decide which path in publishing is right for me.

Some authors swear by self-publishing. They enjoy the freedom to sell their work as they see fit, and to handle every aspect from cover design to promotion. Others prefer the traditional route and loyalty to a certain brand. Still others take on the hybrid role and have it both ways. Having experienced both sides of publishing, I choose in 2014 to submit my works to publishers and hope for the best. Like many authors, I’m my worst critic, and I wish to put my trust in a professional to assist me in offering quality stories with attractive covers. I like the idea of an author community within a publishing circle, where I can connect with authors in the same house and work toward promoting all of our works. It can happen with self-publishers, too, but sometimes it gets lonely.

Bear in mind, I’m not dissing the self-pub/indie route. It works for some, and I’m happy for those who succeed. My goal for 2014 is to have fun, tell the stories I want to write, and hopefully share in that success my own way. These first contracts with Ellora’s Cave and Decadent Publishing mark a new era for me, one I hope leads to big things.

For now, I have a short story in ComingTogether: Through the Storm, which benefits Mercy Corp. Look for “And Lily Makes Three” along with other great stories from CT authors. 

Just to give you feeling for my writing, here's a quick snippet from "A Taste of Vanilla", in Coming Together: Girl on Girl.

***

Hailie watched the onscreen couple embrace and kiss, and swallowed back a catch in her throat. She’d seen her share of love scenes in her favorite soaps and movies, but never two women together, and this looked damn near pornographic by comparison. When Veronique—Hailie assumed she was the blond-haired one—sat back on her heels and slid a hand up the other woman’s thigh, Hailie felt the touch in her heart, then down to her pussy. She knew they were actors, but the emotion appeared genuine, and it certainly moved Hailie.

Veronique edged closer to her lover, pushing out her shadowed pussy to connect with the 
other woman’s thigh. The camera zeroed in just as their mounds pressed together and began a slow grind. Light moaning and breathing accompanied their rhythmic lovemaking, drawing Hailie deeper into this world of grainy black and white sin.

Something pressed against her knee. Hailie looked down at Cecile’s fingers tracing a circle on Hailie’s slacks.

She turned to Cecile, whispering despite their seclusion. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t call it a plan,” Cecile said. “More of a spontaneous action,” she lifted her hand, “but if you’re uncomfortable I’ll stop—”

“I meant the movie.”

Cecile laughed. “I don’t pick the schedule here.”

“You picked the meeting place,” Hailie pointed out, “and how convenient it was to hook up in time to catch this particular show—”

Cecile silenced her with a kiss, with soft lips and a gentle thrust of her tongue across the seam of Hailie’s closed mouth. She felt warm and the aroma of vanilla strengthened with their closeness. Blood pounded in Hailie’s head, muffling the background noise of Sapphic ecstasy. Hailie couldn’t move—unsure of what to do in return. Open her mouth? Reach over and pull Cecile to her?

If you comment below on your favorite genre to read, I’ll draw a winner to receive a backlist title from my eBook catalog.

Thanks for reading!
~
Leigh Ellwood – Variety and Spice!

6 comments:

Colleen C. said...

I love the variety of romance genres out there... something for whatever mood I am in. As for a fav, it varies. I go through short bursts of what I want to read at a certain point. The last few days has been Contemporary... before that was paranormal... before that historical, etc. Love the EC & Decadent books... looking forward to seeing what you have to share!

Lisabet Sarai said...

Hi, Leigh,

Welcome back to Beyond Romance. Sorry I wasn't here to say Hi yesterday. Work, you know... Anyway, I'm about to send out an announcement that hopefully will bring a few more readers by.

judiebabie said...

I love the MMM genre. I'm a big fan of Leigh's because she wrote Long Awaited Friend which I truly loved and then she followed it up with Closer to the Heart.

Unknown said...

Very interesting to hear your perspective on indie vs publisher. I published my first book indie and am now once again struggling about what to do with the second book. It seems the question is never settled so listening to different perspectives like yours really helps. Cindy

Kat L. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leigh Ellwood said...

hanks, everybody!

Colleen: Thanks! I'm excited to see how these new relationships will go.
Lisabet: No worries. I spent the whole week fulfilling Valentine's Day prizes. o.O
Judiebabe: Glad you liked the stories! Will definitely think of another MMM to tell.
Cindy: Thanks for commenting. Publishing changes so quickly now. I wonder what the future will hold as far as going indie. I don't rule it out entirely, but I love having many options.

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